Cramer Fire Fatalities
Initial Briefing
US Forest Service
July 23, 2003 @ 0500

Two firefighters were killed yesterday when they were trapped by fast moving fire on the Cramer Fire. The names of the firefighters have not been released by the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office.

All firefighting personnel and equipment have been taken off the fireline and a “stand-down for safety” is in place.

The Cramer Fire is located 30-miles northwest of Salmon, Idaho on the Salmon-Challis National Forest. The fire started on July 20 when lightening struck in extremely dry vegetation. The fire quickly grew to 40 acres in a matter of hours on the afternoon of July 20. Twenty-four hours later the fire had burned across 200 acres of forested land.

Burning conditions were extreme at the time the firefighters were killed – temperatures were well over 100°F, winds were gusting to 31 miles per hour, and the relative humidity was approximately 16%.

A Forest Service accident investigation team is traveling to Salmon, Idaho. They expect to arrive later today. A Type-1 Incident Management Team (IMT) is also on their way to Salmon and will assume management of fire suppression activities.

No further details are available at this time. Information will be shared as soon as it becomes available.

Please refer all media calls to:
Erin O’Connor, Intermountain Region
801-510-7079 (cell phone that appears to be working in Salmon)
or
Gail Baer, Salmon-Challis National Forest
208-756-5177